DNS, or the Domain Name System, is a naming system for resources on the Internet that translates a domain name into numerical IP (Internet Protocol) addresses that computers can understand to access the Internet. IP address blocking is often used by regimes to censor content to a particular region.

"DNS returns only Hong Kong IPs from all of our locations throughout China," Zmijewski wrote. "These IP addresses are then blocked on backbone routers, so the Hong Kong servers cannot be reached from the mainland." Google returns Hong Kong IPs to their Chinese users as these are the closest servers, he added.

Zmijewski pointed out that Google operates Gmail servers in 20 different countries and he can access them from China when doing a spot check. "Thus, using a non-Hong Kong server (if you happen to be able to discover the appropriate IP address) or a VPN based in another country, should enable Chinese users to get around this block," he added.

China has a long history of censoring and disrupting sites that could be used for distributing anti-government content and has also blocked some international services like Facebook and Twitter. Google pulled out partially from China in 2010 rather than self-censor its search engine, after it said it had found a cyberattack that targeted the accounts of human rights activists. The company started redirecting users visiting its Chinese search site to its Hong Kong website.

PCW Evaluation Team

I would recommend this device for families and small businesses who want one safe place to store all their important digital content and a way to easily share it with friends, family, business partners, or customers.

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